Man in his pants made threat to chop up cat

Glen Lett was carving chicken in his kitchen after boozing in the sun at his home in Westland Drive, Lee-on-the-Solent.

But when the 52-year-old spotted the cat doing its business he staggered outside wearing only his bright blue underpants.

With two knives tucked in his waistband he yelled: ‘I’m going to chop up the cat’.

Realising he had the blades he moved them from the front of his pants to the rear. Video footage shot by a neighbour played at Portsmouth Crown Court showed Lett ‘staggering’ despite him claiming he had only had two cans of drink.

He then became locked out of his house.

Lett’s defence barrister Keely Harvey said: ‘He accepts that the threat was made, effectively: “I’m going to chop up the cat”. He’d gone out after the cat, he had been carving up a chicken.’

She said he only realised he had the knives on him after making the threat.

Ms Harvey added: ‘His intention was to get the cat to take it back to stop defecating.’

Sentencing, judge Ian Pearson said: ‘You went outside your house with two knives, you are pleading guilty on the basis that you used them initially to carve a chicken but then decided to remonstrate with a cat that had defecated. It was bad luck that you had the knives on you. You had the knives in your underpants.’

He said he accepted no-one was threatened.

The judge said: ‘However, the law views the carrying of bladed articles very seriously indeed.’

Lett has 33 convictions for 65 offences and was previously known as Thomas Hartlett.

Judge Pearson added: ‘Quite clearly you were affected by alcohol, that’s the assessment of the witnesses and you’re staggering somewhat when seen on the video.’

Judge Pearson imposed a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 120 hours of unpaid work and said a ‘deterrent sentence’ had to be imposed.

The court heard Lett had a six-year break in offending until the incident on June 5.

Lett pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.